Avengers: Lokason
by IBegToDreamAndDiffer
Summary: When Loki turns Jötunn Frigga rushes to his cell, finally able to set eyes on her son once more. She finds Loki in labour. See warnings inside.
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

**Pairing: **Loki/Tony Stark

**Warnings: **MPreg, non-graphic birth scene, more warnings to be added, rating may change

**Edit: **This story is now being continued. "One-shot" is not in my vocabulary.

**Disclaimer: **The world and characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel. I own nothing but the plot and make no money from this story.

* * *

**Chapter One**

Frigga was finally allowed to see her youngest son after he reverted into his Jötunn skin and started screaming. The guards alerted Odin and she and Thor quickly raced through the palace, Frigga uncaring of the annoyed look her husband gave her. When he tried to stop her from descending into the dungeons she glared at him.

'You listen to me,' she hissed, 'you are my King, and my husband. But Loki is_ my son_, no matter what he has done. I will see him now or I will leave you for Vanaheimr and never return, is that understood?'

Odin hesitated before he swallowed thickly and stepped back, granting Frigga access. She sniffed at him and hurried down the steps, Thor on her heels.

When they reached the last cell Frigga gasped.

'Oh Valhalla,' she murmured, 'Odin, allow me through.'

'Excuse me?' the King demanded.

'Loki is in labour!' Frigga shouted at him.

Odin's good eye widened and he slammed his stave against the ground, the golden spell keeping Loki in and others out disappearing immediately. Loki was curled up on the floor, in the corner, on a bed of blankets and pillows. His hands were pressed against the rounded swell of his stomach and sweat was beading his sapphire blue skin, turning to ice before it could travel past his cheekbones.

The glamour that he had been using to hide his condition was gone.

'M-Mother,' Loki stuttered through the pain.

'You stupid boy,' Frigga growled, 'why did you not tell us?'

Loki's eyes flashed over her shoulder. 'You know what will happen now,' he said. 'The Fates have seen that my children will help destroy Asgard. It is why I've never had children bef- _ah_!' He hunched over himself as best he could, but his magic was failing him; it was allowing pain through, stripped away due to the impending birth. Frigga wondered how long Loki had been this way- how long had he been able to hide his labour while stuck in this cell?

Frigga pushed Loki's hands aside and laid her own on his stomach, fingers digging in through his soft green tunic. It was ripping at the seams due to Loki's weight gain, and she stared at the threads barely holding it together as she worked her healing magic.

'It is time,' she announced. 'Odin, Thor, leave. I will deliver the babe.'

'But Mother-' Thor tried, only for the Queen to round on him.

'I was not asking, Thor!' she snapped. 'I was ordering! Odin, take our son and your guards and _leave_.'

Odin didn't hesitate this time; he nodded and drew the guards away, Thor trailing behind him looking lost. She heard them stop at the end of the room, leaving her and her baby boy only a small sliver of privacy.

Loki chuckled, drawing her attention back to him.

'He will return,' the Frost Giant said, teeth gritted. 'He will return and steal my babe, and I will not be able to stop him. Failing motherhood and I have not even truly begun.'

'Nonsense,' Frigga tsked. 'You risked your life to keep this babe safe, Loki. You are already a wonderful mother.'

Loki's eyes went hooded at that, dark, and Frigga pursed her lips. Once upon a time her youngest had lapped up all praise he gave her, for he got it nowhere else. Now he accepted nothing, saw lies beneath every word spoken to him.

He did not even believe his mother any more. And Frigga could not blame him.

What happened next stole Frigga's attention and she concentrated on delivering Loki's babe, her grandson or granddaughter. Loki didn't scream until his body ripped, and then it echoed throughout the hall, grating on Frigga's ears and making her wish that there was more that she could do.

But there was no time. Within twenty minutes of arriving, the babe was out, screaming along with _his _father.

A boy.

Frigga summoned one of Loki's tunics and wrapped the babe, cleaning everything away with spells and her own two hands. Loki slumped heavily against the wall, deep purple bags beneath his red eyes. Frost clung to his hair and the temperature within the cell had plummeted, barely above freezing.

Despite his obvious exhaustion, Loki propped himself up as best he could and reached for the babe. Frigga handed him over, watching the love that only a parent could feel spread over Loki's face.

'Hello, little one,' Loki whispered. The babe cried out and Loki shushed him. 'It is okay. I will take care of-' He cut himself off suddenly and swallowed. When he looked up at Frigga his eyes were green, and as she watched his skin bled from blue to white. 'What now?' he asked.

Frigga wet her lips. 'Now you name him, Loki.'

Loki scoffed. 'So he can have a name before he is executed?'

'_Loki_.'

'He will do it and you know it,' Loki muttered. 'He would have executed me if not for you. Do not tell me you believe otherwise, my Queen.'

'I am your _mother_, Loki, and that will never change!' Frigga said sharply. Loki didn't look at her, his eyes remaining on his son.

The babe had a thick nest of dark brown hair and when he sluggishly peeled his eyes open they were a warm ochre with darker flecks the colour of rich soil.

'I will speak with Odin,' Frigga said.

'I only ask that I be allowed to visit,' Loki murmured. 'Or that he be brought here.' He finally looked up at her. 'I will know him before he is murdered.'

'He will not be killed, Loki.'

Frigga shifted to look over at the corridor beyond Loki's cell. Odin and Thor had returned, Thor barely containing his excitement, mixed as it was with fear. Odin had spoken and Frigga raised her chin. 'Husband?'

'I will not murder your son, Loki,' Odin said.

'Will you not?' Loki spat back. 'He is of my blood, not of yours; what good is he to you?' He paused. 'Or are you still hoping for your puppet-king?'

'He was not born Jötunn-blue,' Odin commented.

Loki's eyes narrowed. 'No,' he agreed reluctantly, 'he was not.' He looked back down at the babe and ran a slim finger over his fat, rosy cheek. 'He looks like his father,' he murmured.

'And who would that be?' Frigga asked curiously.

Loki didn't answer, so she turned to Odin. 'What are your plans?'

'Loki will be given everything he needs for the babe,' Odin told them, 'and, perhaps after he has rested, he will sit with me and recount what truly happened to him when he fell from the _Bifröst_.'

Frigga turned wide, hopeful eyes on her youngest, who was staring pointedly at his new son. When Thor had returned Loki to them in chains, Loki had refused to comment on his time away; he had refused despite the haunted look in his eyes, the new scars fresh across his body. Odin was a seasoned warrior and knew torture when he saw it, yet Loki had refused to speak. Thus he had been detained and sent away until he came to his senses and told them the truth.

'Loki. _Loki_,' Frigga hissed. She shook his arm gently, careful not to jostle the babe. 'Your son will need you. Will you really give him up for the sake of your pride?'

Loki swallowed a few times, his throat working hard. He touched the babe's hair again, finger curling the wet brown strands. Finally, after a long while, Loki swallowed again and said, 'I shall tell you what happened. It... concerns the Mad Titan.'

Frigga and Odin both froze and Thor shifted uneasily.

'War will come, eventually,' Loki murmured, 'I was hoping to avoid it. I cannot avoid it now.' He smoothed his fingers over the babe's forehead. 'Your father will fight, if he is still alive when the Titan comes,' he told his son. 'And he will die.'

'Who, Loki?' Frigga asked.

Loki sighed and shifted the babe up to his chest. Arms curled protectively around his son, he leaned heavily back against the wall and closed his eyes.

'Thor,' he spoke, voice tired and barely above a whisper.

'Brother,' Thor responded.

Loki did not deny it and Frigga felt hope curl around her heart.

'Thor, you will go to Midgard and tell the father. Retrieve him and his friends, for the coming war will affect their planet,' Loki said.

'I shall,' Thor vowed.

Loki nodded jerkily, shifted the babe again.

'Stark,' Loki finally said. 'Anthony Stark, the Man of Iron.' Thor inhaled sharply. 'Tell him that his son's name is Andon Lokason.' He sighed. 'Though I doubt that he will care.' That was all he got out before he nodded off, arms still tight around the babe- around _Andon_\- even in sleep.

'Thor, go now,' Odin ordered. 'I wish to speak with the Man of Iron.'

'Yes, Father,' Thor nodded. He hesitated before leaving and looked at Frigga. 'Mother, please take care of him. I wish for both my brother and nephew to remain healthy.'

Frigga inclined her head and Thor hurried away, the sounds of his footsteps soon retreating. 'Will you really pardon Loki for his crimes?' she questioned.

'I believe that whatever happened to Loki was punishment enough,' Odin stated. 'I would have let him go if he had but admitted the truth. He was too stubborn.'

'Yes, he is,' Frigga smiled faintly. She turned to look at Andon. 'We are grandparents, Odin.'

'Indeed,' Odin said. 'One day I hope that Loki can view me as such.'

'Yes,' Frigga agreed, 'perhaps one day.'

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yeah, I dunno. I wanted Loki giving birth in prison and there we are. Huzzah! In other news, "Andon" is the Bulgarian and Macedonian variant of "Anthony". Yup, I'm original. I pronounce it like the name "Anton" only with a D.

Also, technically Andon's surname should be "Anthonason" but that's a bit of a mouthful. I coulda made it "Starkson", I suppose, that does sound cool... eh.

Anywho, that's that. Cheers!

Dreamer


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Thor was torn between joy, fear and anger. He had a _nephew_, a babe that he could one day show how to fight and hunt and be a prince. He knew that his brother would be a good mother, and he could only hope that he would be a good uncle. He would watch Loki's son grow and learn to fight and perhaps use magic! And Thor vowed to himself that it would be different this time; he would protect Loki's son from Asgard if it was needed. He would show his nephew that being different was okay, that it was _better_.

He would not make the same mistakes that he had made when he and Loki were growing.

Thor feared that the Allfather would not accept all that Loki had been through; that he would take the babe and punish Loki. But his father had promised that he would protect the child, and he had told Thor that all he needed was the truth. Thor didn't know what had happened to Loki when he fell; what had happened to make him so angry and sick and exhausted when he reached Midgard. But he wanted to know. He wanted to help Loki heal and become himself once more.

And Thor was angry. No, not angry; _furious_. The Man of Iron must have taken advantage of his brother. They had only met a handful of times; when Loki had been apprehended the first time, when Loki had opened the portal above Stark Tower, and when Loki had been in chains. How had they gone from that to... to a babe?

Loki had been kept within the Tower while Thor had discussed returning him to Asgard with the Director of SHIELD. Loki had been alone in one of the rooms, chained and locked in. It was Stark's building; he could have walked in and...

Thor growled and gripped _Mjölnir_ tightly. He had almost reached Heimdall, and his anger carried him up and into the presence of the watcher. Heimdall inclined his head and Thor barely managed to greet him without snarling.

'Prince Thor,' the large god said. 'Accept my blessings upon your new family member.'

Thor paused and eyed him.

'Perhaps now Prince Loki will return to himself,' Heimdall added.

'Yes,' Thor agreed. 'If the Allfather agrees that Loki has suffered enough, perhaps...'

'Apologies are necessary in these times,' Heimdall said. 'I shall visit Prince Loki when it is allowed.'

Thor wondered why Loki would need to apologise to Heimdall, but then remembered how the Guard had allowed Sif and the Warriors Three to visit Midgard when Loki and the Allfather before him had forbidden it.

At the time Thor had been overjoyed to see his friends. Now, he knew that their betrayal had cut Loki deeply and had pushed him that bit further towards the edge.

He tightened his grip around _Mjölnir_ again. 'Yes,' he said, 'you disobeyed your King, Heimdall.'

Heimdall inclined his head. 'And I shall ask for his forgiveness. Midgard?'

Thor nodded and stood patiently while Heimdall arranged it. Within seconds the older god was nodding to him, and then Thor was being sucked through the Bifröst and down, through colours and power that he could never hope to understand. He landed atop Stark Tower, on the large area where Loki had stabbed him in the stomach.

He stood tall and looked through the windows a few feet before him, but he could see no one.

Well, Thor would just have to hunt the Iron Man down.

{ooo}

Steve nudged Tony's head but he didn't move. It took Clint flicking his ear three or four times for Tony to finally groan and sit up. 'What?'

'We're eating lunch, Tony,' Steve said. 'Please sit up.'

'Who cooked?' Tony mumbled.

He yawned while Steve said, 'Clint and I did, remember?'

'You were here the whole time,' Clint reminded him. 'You've been sitting there for an hour.'

'I have?' Tony yawned again and scrubbed at his eyes. 'What day is it?'

'Saturday,' Clint said, which didn't help. Tony knew that it was January... it was 2013... 'The 12th,' Clint helpfully supplied.

'Oh, right,' Tony murmured. 'I've got a meeting at some point this month.'

'Three meetings scheduled for the 16th, 17th and 19th,' Steve supplied.

Tony frowned at him. 'How do you know?'

'I actually talk to Pepper,' Steve said.

Tony groaned and flopped back onto the table. Ever since Loki's invasion, he and Pepper had barely spoken. She'd broken up with him a few days afterwards but Tony couldn't blame her for it... much. She couldn't sit back and watch as the man she loved flew into danger every other day, which Tony understood. What he _didn't _understand was why she'd agreed to date him in the first place if Iron Man was such a deal breaker. It wasn't like Tony could just _stop _being Iron Man.

Besides, Tony was still feeling guilty about cheating on her. He hadn't _planned _on it, okay? It had just... happened. And he felt guilty, so he hadn't said anything when Pepper dumped him and stopped talking to him unless it involved Stark Industries.

'_Mr Stark_,' JARVIS chimed in just as Steve was putting the large pot of spaghetti on the table. Bruce had wandered in, drawn out of his nap by the smell of food, and Natasha was still in the doorway chatting on the phone to... someone, Tony didn't care.

'Yeah, J?' he asked as he sat up straight.

'_Thor Odinson is on the helipad and is requesting entry,_' JARVIS said.

'Thor?' Steve asked.

'Helipad?' Tony grunted. 'Wait, what?' He jumped to his feet and both Steve and Clint chased after him, all three men shoving themselves into the elevator. 'What the hell is Thor doing here?'

'Maybe he has news?' Steve offered.

'Maybe Loki's dead,' Clint said with a bit too much hope in his voice. Both Tony and Steve glared at him, but Tony was pretty sure that it was for two entirely different reasons.

'Thor!' Tony shouted when they reached the penthouse. And yep, there Thor was, tapping at the glass gently with one finger. At least he hadn't broken it. JARVIS unlocked the door as Tony approached, and Tony managed to say, 'Hey, Point Break, what brings you back to my humble abode?' before Thor was storming in, wrapping one giant hand _around Tony's neck_, and slamming Tony against the wall. 'Hey-what-_breathe_!' Tony wheezed.

Steve and Clint pounced on Thor- well, Clint pounced, Steve just grabbed his arm. 'Thor, what are you doing?' Steve demanded.

'That's Tony, man, let him go!' Clint added. 'He's on our side!'

'I think not!' Thor boomed, angry blue eyes locked on Tony. 'The Man of Iron has betrayed my trust and dishonoured my family!'

'_Wha_-' Tony tried, okay, but he was _choking _and Thor's fingers were really strong and- 'Blacking out, blacking out!' he shouted as best he could. His fingers were clawing at Thor's arm, but Thor didn't seem to care.

'Thor, _let him go_!' Steve finally shouted.

Thor growled but dropped Tony to his feet, Tony doubling over and fighting for air. Clint slipped off of Thor's shoulder and rubbed Tony's back, which didn't help all that much, but Tony appreciated it. Finally, when Tony could stand straight and talk without ripping his vocal chords, he said, 'What the fuck was that?'

Thor loomed over him and Tony backed up- he wasn't in his suit, okay, it wasn't like he could take Thor on.

'You dishonoured my family- my brother!' Thor snarled.

That was when Bruce and Natasha decided to join in, both arriving via elevator.

'Thor,' Bruce said.

'JARVIS told us you were trying to kill Tony?' Natasha asked.

'Aye, I am thinking of doing so,' Thor said.

'What?' Tony gaped. 'Why? I haven't done anything to your family!'

_Well, you kinda did something to his brother..._ Tony scowled, because now was _not _the time for him to develop a conscience, okay?

'My mother was finally allowed to visit my brother in prison,' Thor told the group, eyes still on Tony. Clint scowled at the name drop, but the others were silent, waiting. Tony rubbed his sore throat. 'My brother turned Jötunn and started screaming in agony, so my father allowed Mother to see him.'

'Jötunn?' Bruce asked.

'He's a Frost Giant,' Tony muttered. Thor _growled at him_, and Tony winced. 'Um... I did some research?' he offered. He had, okay... he just left out the part where he'd visited Loki and had a chat with him after the Avengers had chained him up in one of Tony's guest rooms.

'We found Loki in pain, and his glamours had dropped,' Thor said. 'Loki was pregnant.'

Tony's mouth dropped open and he had to lean against the wall for support. Clint choked on his own tongue while Steve gaped, and Bruce and Natasha just stared at the Thunder God.

It was Bruce who finally said, 'Pregnant?'

'Aye,' Thor nodded. 'Loki is Jötunn; Frost Giants are hermaphrodites. Loki is also a mage, and magic makes many things possible. We were told at a young age that Loki would have to be careful who he laid with for fear of him becoming with child.'

'_Pregnant_?' Clint hissed and leaned against the wall with Tony. Well, at least Tony wasn't the only one about to collapse.

'The Father is Midgardian,' Thor continued after a beat, and his blue eyes swivelled back to Tony.

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, _no_. There was no _fucking way_-

'Loki agreed to tell us who, for he wishes to raise his son outside of prison,' Thor said.

'Outside- you're letting him go?!' Clint screeched.

'There is much that you do not understand, Barton,' Thor said. 'Loki was tortured for however long he fell through the abyss. There was another person at play, another person whispering in Loki's ear. When I returned him to Asgard those whispers had stopped, but Loki refused to reveal who was behind the invasion of your world.'

'Someone was pulling Loki's strings?' Natasha asked and looked at Tony.

'I told you so!' Tony shouted. 'The sceptre has the ability to mess with the wielder's head, I showed you my results. But _no_, none of you wanted to listen to me!'

'You believed Loki to not be himself during the invasion?' Thor asked, his head tilted slightly.

'Yeah,' Tony nodded. 'His eyes were green when we found him in my Tower, after we beat the Chitauri. They were blue when he fought us, the same shade of blue that Clint's were when he was under the Tesseract's control. Besides,' he sniffed and shifted a bit, 'I know what torture looks like, Thor. Loki had been through some shit before he got here.'

'Aye,' Thor agreed, 'which makes me wonder, Man of Iron, why you would take advantage of my brother when he was recovering from _torture_.'

And oh boy, the anger was back, excellent.

'Hey, wait, no!' Tony shouted and tried to back up- but yeah, there was that pesky wall again. 'I didn't take advantage of your brother!'

'The few times you met him he was in chains!' Thor snarled. 'He could not have stopped you if he had tried!'

'He's still plenty strong without the chains, Thor!' Tony snapped. Thor's eyes darkened and he took a step forward, but thankfully Steve was there with his bulk, inching himself between Tony and Thor.

'Thor, what exactly are you saying?' Steve asked. 'Because it sounds like you're implying that Tony's the father of Loki's baby.'

_Well, give the Captain a medal_, Tony thought bitterly, now_ he starts to get things._

'He _is _the father of Loki's babe,' Thor said.

There was silence for ten, _maybe _twenty seconds, before all eyes turned to Tony.

'Shit,' Tony grunted

'You took advantage of my brother!' Thor shouted again.

'No, I... maybe a little, okay?' Tony snapped. 'But it's not what you think, I met Loki _before _he came through the Tesseract!'

Thor froze, his eyes narrowed, and Natasha and Clint both stared at him.

'Before?' Bruce asked.

'Yeah,' Tony nodded, 'I found him in a bar. He looked worse then when he came through the Tesseract, and we started chatting. He didn't seem crazy, but he was scared and hurt so I asked if he needed a lift home. He said he didn't have a home any more-' Thor winced at that, but didn't interrupt, '- so I offered him a bed, but that was it!' Tony waved his hands about. 'I let Loki sleep in my guest room and the next morning I made him breakfast. He looked better and, um...' he felt his face heat up and lowered his head, trying to avoid Thor's eyes; he was sure that they promised death.

'_And_?' Natasha prompted, sounding _far _too amused given what they were discussing.

'And, uh... he might have jumped me?' Tony offered lamely.

'Jumped... you...' Thor echoed slowly.

'Um... yeah,' Tony nodded. 'We, uh... had sex, and then he left, and next thing I know I'm seeing footage of him taking the Tesseract. But he told me his name was Luke, okay? I didn't know he was the Norse God of Mischief and Lies when I-' He cut himself off because, _hello, giant big brother right here!_

'Well,' Natasha mused, 'I guess I can see why you didn't tell us.'

'Oh my God,' Clint gaped. 'Tony Stark is a father!'

'Hey, no!' Tony shouted while Natasha snickered and Bruce covered his mouth, eyes filled with laughter. Steve sighed in exasperation. 'Just 'cause Loki and I fucked doesn't mean that I'm the father of his kid!'

'He told me that you were,' Thor said.

'He could be lying-'

'The babe looks like you,' Thor interrupted.

Tony's mouth shut with a click.

'He has your eyes,' Thor added. 'And Loki wished for me to tell you that he is named Andon Lokason.'

Tony's eyes widened and he just _stared _at Thor because... the baby had his eyes? Did he look more like Tony, or more look like Loki? _Andon Lokason_...

'Oh my God,' Tony groaned and slid to the floor.

'There, there,' Clint said and patted his shoulder. Tony glared at him but at least Clint was smiling... that was good, right? Because Tony had been pretty sure that if _anyone _found out that he'd slept with Loki, they'd straight up murder him like Thor wanted to.

'My friends, we need you in Asgard,' Thor was talking, but Tony didn't pay attention. He was too busy staring at his hands and trying to imagine a baby that looked like him. He still had baby photos of himself, he should grab one and-

'War is approaching and Loki is finally telling us what he knows,' Thor said. 'The Mad Titan is not somebody to be trifled with, and the Allfather wants you in Asgard so that we can discuss future plans.'

Natasha said something about calling SHIELD, Bruce was told to collect anything that he- and Tony- would need, and Steve offered to pack for Tony considering that Tony was pretty much rooted to the spot.

Soon enough Tony was alone. Everyone else had disappeared and Thor was on the balcony, staring down at Manhattan. After a few minutes Tony managed to drag himself up and walk outside.

He leaned against the balcony near Thor and asked, 'He looks like me?'

'Aye, that is what Loki said,' Thor nodded. 'It would be unwise to lie about this, Man of Iron, seeing as how I was tasked with bringing you all to Asgard.'

'Uh... yeah,' Tony gulped. 'I, um...'

'I am still angry with you,' Thor said, 'you took advantage of my brother when he was sick and not in his right mind.' He huffed. 'But Loki is stubborn and mischievous. If he had wanted you, I doubt that you could have truly refused him.'

'Yeah,' Tony repeated. He didn't know what else to say.

'I am an uncle, Stark,' Thor sighed again. 'I do not want my nephew to grow up without his mother.'

Mother... _Jesus Christ_.

'Loki did not want to tell anyone what had happened to him,' Thor continued, 'but is is doing so for his son... for _your _son.'

'My son,' Tony whispered. 'I'm a dad.'

Thor smiled weakly. 'Aye,' he said and clapped Tony on the shoulder. It was gentle, because Tony wasn't flung back and he didn't collapse under the weight; it was soft and _there _and Thor didn't remove his hand. 'Congratulations, Anthony Stark.'

_Shit_.

* * *

**Author's Note: ***twiddles thumbs* So... yes. You were all right. My muse, Johnny? He has NO idea what a one-shot is. So despite the many, many WIPs I should be working on, he's decided that I MUST continue this story. And so here I am, continuing it. All of you who are laughing, shut up. I know who you are -_-

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Dreamer


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

'Shh, shh,' Loki hummed as he bathed Andon. His mother had wiped him clean, but Loki wouldn't be satisfied until he had cleaned Andon himself. Frigga had disappeared only a few minutes earlier, gone to fetch food and some other things for Loki's cell; a bassinet and clothing for the child and whatnot, Loki hadn't been paying attention, in all honesty.

His focus was solely on his son, a babe he had only been aware of for three months. The first six had been spent trying to run from his nightmares and trying to keep food down. Loki had been exhausted from lack of sleep, sick from being unable to keep down the food Thor and the guards brought for him. He had thought nothing of the stomach pains, the lethargy, thinking they were his body and magic fighting his inner demons.

He still remembered the night he had realised he was with child; the cell had been dark, torches flickering their warm glow just beyond the barrier that kept him contained. His magic had reacted suddenly and then Loki had been aware of _another_, a presence within him that he had never felt before. He had recalled his mother's stories of when she had carried Thor (when she had _lied _about carrying Loki)... and he had known.

A babe, half him, half Jötunn, half... Midgardian. The father was an enemy and Loki had had no intention of telling Stark about Andon. Loki had planned on escaping, throwing himself into breaking the Allfather's spells.

It had all been for nought; he hadn't been strong enough to escape before the babe was born.

And now here he was, washing his son, waiting for his mother, and... his brother would return soon, Stark with him, the mortal aware that he had fathered a child.

Loki didn't know what would happen, but he didn't care about Stark right now. Loki would be enough for Andon, and would explain what had happened to him at the hands of Thanos to the Allfather. They had to prepare for war, whenever it arrived, and when their backs were turned, when Loki was allowed his freedom, he would take Andon and run. Asgard was no place for a Jötunn, let alone one that was only half Frost Giant.

A half-breed born out of wedlock.

Loki would raise Andon in Vanaheimr or Álfheimr or on Midgard. If it was needed he would escape this galaxy all together and take Andon far away where he would be safe.

'I will protect you,' Loki whispered to the babe, who made a soft noise of annoyance when more water was poured gently over his body. When Loki lifted him from the tub, now clean, he watched as Andon's skin turned blue, a change that had been brought on by the cold, Loki thought. Thankfully Frigga hadn't been around, Odin had left already, the guards had been instructed not to look at him or the new... prince.

Loki sighed and rubbed Andon dry, breathing another huff of relief when the babe's skin turned pink once more. He was squishy and red and disorientated, but he was the most _beautiful _creature Loki had ever set eyes on.

But he could tell, even now, that Andon would look like his father; he would have Stark's messy brown hair when he grew older, his honey-coloured eyes, his nose and chin and...

Loki wrapped Andon and brought him to his chest. Andon started fussing and Loki walked over to his cot, sitting and getting comfortable before he removed his tunic. Andon latched on readily, greedily sucking down milk, and Loki shifted once more in discomfort.

It was odd, providing like this for his son, but... it felt right. Loki remembered the concerns Frigga had voiced when he reached adulthood; the way that his magic could react and create new life given the right mate. Loki hadn't thought that he could naturally give birth, but then he'd discovered he was Jötunn and... even the Æsir knew that Jötnar were hermaphrodites. Natural birth had been painful but possible.

Loki sighed and finally got comfortable. Andon fed for a while before pulling away, and Loki knew enough about babes to bring his son up to his shoulder and pat his back. Andon spat up about a mouthful of milk and Loki cooed as he wiped at his son's mouth.

'Are you full?' Loki hummed, despite the fact that Andon couldn't speak back, nor could he actually understand him. He moved until Andon was wrapped up again, his small head resting in the crook of Loki's elbow. Loki didn't bother putting his tunic back on, instead just resting heavily against the wall. His entire body ached, and he was sure that it would be days before he could move comfortably once more. His magic didn't seem to want to heal him, and Loki mused about asking his mother for something that could aid his healing.

'Loki.' Frigga stepped into the cell and Loki looked up at her.

'Yes?'

'I brought you some things,' Frigga said. A guard stepped in behind her but didn't look at Loki; he set a large wooden bassinet beside the bed, and another guard placed a large tray on the table furthest from Loki; it was heaped with bowls and plates of food, two jugs and a teapot, cups and forks and knives. The guards left and Frigga sat on the bed beside Loki, her arms overflowing with blankets and clothing. 'I visited some of my handmaidens and they provided suitable clothing,' Frigga told him, 'just until you can find things for yourself.'

Loki just nodded and moved once more, ignoring the twinge in his lower body. Frigga held Andon and fussed over him as Loki sorted through the clothes. There were little socks and caps, sleepwear that covered the entirety of the babe's body, feet included. Loki smiled when he found a green coverall, the buttons gold. He found a soft brown hat and set it aside before taking his son from Frigga and dressing him.

Andon looked more like a babe now instead of a small red creature, and he yawned when Loki slipped the cap over his fluffy brown hair. Andon's eyes peeled open and he stared up at Loki, not truly taking him in, unable, at the moment, to tell who Loki was.

_He isn't a mage, _Loki thought with a sigh. _But he is a shapeshifter. I will teach him everything, and I will love him unconditionally._

'Loki?' Loki shook himself from his thoughts and wrapped Andon again in a new blanket, this one a soft brown that matched the flecks in Andon's eyes.

'Yes, Mother?' Loki queried.

'Are you well?' Frigga asked, then pursed her lips when Loki raised an eyebrow. 'I mean, how are you feeling now?'

'Well enough,' Loki told her. 'I ache, but it was worth it.' He looked back down at Andon.

'I have not seen you smile in so long, Loki.' Frigga cupped his cheek and Loki's eyes flicked up to her.

'I have not had any reason to smile in a long while,' Loki said.

'Yes,' Frigga agreed, 'but that will change.'

'Will it?'

'Your father- the Allfather,' Frigga corrected when Loki stiffened beside her, 'he is trying, Loki. You know how stubborn he is, but he has admitted that he was wrong over many things concerning you. He wants you to be happy.'

'I have not _been _happy in _centuries_,' Loki sniffed. 'It was not all his fault, true, but he never helped.'

'I know,' Frigga said, 'but he _is _trying.'

'I will believe it when I see it,' Loki muttered. 'When does he wish to speak to me?'

'I will decide when you are ready,' Frigga said. 'You need time to bond with your son.'

'Mm,' Loki hummed. He bounced Andon lightly when the boy snuffled, but he was already falling asleep once more.

'He is quiet,' Frigga murmured, 'like you were.'

'Was I?'

The Queen nodded. 'Thor was a very loud babe, he fussed over everything. You sat and waited patiently. You only ever made noise when you were truly desperate.' She looked heartbroken suddenly, and Loki wasn't sure what to say. 'It is behaviour that followed you well into adulthood,' Frigga added.

Loki didn't reply.

'Thor has told me that you have been suffering nightmares,' Frigga said after a brief silence. 'Are they still troubling you?'

'Yes,' Loki admitted. 'I don't know how to rid my mind of them. They have... burrowed in too deep.'

'I will make you tea,' Frigga said. 'It will help with the pain you are trying to hide from me,' she threw Loki a reproachful look, 'and some brews will help you sleep.'

'Thank you,' Loki mumbled.

Frigga wet her lips before saying, 'Thor will be returning soon when the warriors of Midgard. Do you wish to see the...'

'The father of my babe?' Loki finished for her. 'No, I would not.'

'Why?'

'Because we had one night, Mother, and he didn't know what I truly am,' Loki said. 'He will not want to be a father, especially not to a monster-'

'You are not a monster!' Frigga snapped. 'And neither is Andon.'

'If I'm not, then why the centuries of stories about the monsters from Jötunheimr?' Loki demanded. His green eyes were blazing when he finally looked away from Andon. 'Why tell me stories of bloodthirsty beasts who would eat me after capturing me? Why tales of battle where the idiot savages of Jötunheimr lose?' He paused before spitting, 'Why keep my heritage a secret and then feed me stories of _freaks_?'

'We didn't wish you to think that you weren't our son, Loki,' Frigga told him. 'We didn't want you to feel inferior to Thor.'

Loki laughed darkly at that. 'You failed,' he growled. 'I have _always _been inferior to Thor, and I always will be. He is the Golden Prince of Asgard, and I am the Unwanted Prince of Jötunheimr. I'm a monster, Mother, but Odin Allfather made me what I am.'

'Odin made many mistakes, as did I,' Frigga said, 'but we will make up for them to the best of our abilities.' She sighed and stroked Loki's cheek, brushing his messy hair back behind one ear. 'One day you may find it in your heart to forgive us.'

'I don't have a heart,' Loki muttered.

'If you didn't, you wouldn't be looking at Andon with that expression,' Frigga said gently.

Loki rolled his eyes but didn't reply, and Frigga smiled.

'You will heal, my son,' Frigga said. 'And you will be stronger for it.'

'I know,' Loki said. 'Whether the Allfather helps or hinders my health remains to be seen.'

Frigga pursed her lips but clearly decided not to try again; it was too soon for Loki to even _contemplate _forgiving his adopted father. He had tried so hard, his entire life, to live up to that man's expectations.

He had failed every single time.

Loki was done trying. Let the Allfather try, for once.

'My Queen.'

Loki and Frigga both looked up at the guard, who was standing just beyond the barrier.

'Yes?' Frigga said.

'Prince Thor has returned, and he is accompanied by the Warriors of Midgard,' the guard said.

Frigga nodded and stood. She smoothed out her dress, green and gold fabric swishing around her as she turned.

'I will be back, Loki,' she said, 'and perhaps I will be accompanied by Andon's father.'

Loki just nodded and watched his mother leave. The guard looked him over briefly before moving off, disappearing down the hallway. Loki sat silently for a few minutes before the growling of his stomach forced him to move. He stood and inspected the bassinet and it only took him seconds to remember that it had been Thor's, then his own. It was already filled with soft grey sheets and pillows.

He lowered Andon into the bassinet, the babe fussing and crying when Loki let him go.

'Shh,' Loki murmured. He ran his hand over the babe's body and used a spell to keep him warm. Andon quietened down, and Loki smiled brokenly. Andon disliked the cold, it seemed. Unlike Loki, whom had always thrived in it. Andon had inherited far too much from his mortal father.

With the babe quiet and sleeping, Loki pulled a tunic on and then turned to the food. He was starving, but knew that he had to pace himself. He had not been able to eat much in months.

{oOo}

Asgard was big and gold and beautiful and kind of terrifying. Or maybe that was Thor, who every so often _glared _at him like Tony had forced himself on Loki. Granted, Loki had been so very fucked up when he and Tony had slept together, but it wasn't like Loki hadn't _wanted it_, okay? And he'd never told Tony that he could fucking _fall pregnant_, so...

Okay, Tony felt like an asshole; he had ever since Loki- or "Luke"- had walked out of the Tower and disappeared. Tony hadn't felt any better when Coulson had showed up with footage of Loki, still looking like shit, still grinning like a lunatic.

Crap, Tony had to apologise, didn't he?

Tony groaned and buried his face in his hands. Thankfully Bruce was there, making sure that Tony didn't wander over and off the edge of the Rainbow Bridge. And it was an actual _rainbow bridge, _Jesus Christ.

'Relax, Tony,' Bruce said.

'How can I _relax_?' Tony demanded, voice muffled by his palms. 'I fucked up and I'm a dad and maybe Loki wouldn't have tried to take over Earth if I could just keep my dick in my pants.'

'Your dick doesn't have the ability to stop or start world wars, Stark,' Clint muttered.

'I thought you'd be all pissed off,' Tony admitted.

'I am,' Clint said, shrugging when Tony finally lifted his head to look at him, 'but your research made a lot of sense, you know? Loki clearly wasn't in his right mind. I mean, I still hate the dude, and he was _in my head_, he would have known how fucking invasive it is but he did it anyway. I'll never be his biggest fan, but...'

'He was tortured,' Natasha took over when Clint failed to continue. 'We've all been there, Tony, and it can really mess a person up. Loki will get a second chance if he can prove that he deserves it.'

'Besides,' Steve added, 'Loki's good-looking and, um... you kind of fail at _not _sleeping with good-looking people, especially if they're as insane as you are.'

'Captain Rogers!' Tony gasped dramatically. 'Did you just call Loki _hot_?'

'I did,' Steve shrugged.

Tony's brain was failing and Bruce had to wrap an arm around his shoulders to keep him upright.

'You didn't know that Steve's attracted to men as well as women?' he murmured.

'What?!' Tony squawked. '_No_!'

'Huh,' Bruce murmured. 'It was kind of obvious from his files? And he checked out Thor _a lot _on the Helicarrier.'

'Oh my God, my whole world view has changed!' Tony shouted.

'That happens, when you become a parent,' a feminine voice said.

Tony stopped ranting and dropped his arms. They'd reached what appeared to be a... palace? Let's go with palace, and standing before the steps was a tall woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and boots that could definitely stomp poor, defenceless mortals into the dirt.

Tony gulped as Thor rushed forward, calling the woman, 'Mother,' as well as, 'Queen Frigga'.

Fuck. So this was Loki's mom... and Tony had gotten her baby boy pregnant.

Oh God, he was gonna die.

'Where is he?' Frigga interrupted Thor, her eyes jumping to Steve, Clint, Bruce, Tony, and back again.

Thor cleared his throat and looked at Tony, who whimpered but stepped forward. He was Iron Man, damn it, and he would _not _piss himself and run like a terrified child.

'Mother, this is the Man of Iron, Anthony Stark of Midgard,' Thor introduced.

'I, uh, just go by Tony... or Iron Man,' Tony said, waving slightly. 'It's nice to meet you... ma'am.'

'Your given name?' Frigga asked, head tilted.

'Anthony,' Tony said, 'Tony's a, uh... nickname.'

'I see,' Frigga mused. Her blue eyes ran from Tony's head and down again, over and over until she finally looked him in the eyes. 'Anthony, would you like to meet your son?'

Tony's heart got caught somewhere in his throat, so he just nodded. Frigga hummed and held a hand out, gesturing Tony forward. He allowed his arm to be tucked into hers, and with that done she pulled him up and into the... palace.

'Loki may not welcome you with open arms,' Frigga murmured, 'but I believe that you wish to be there for your son.'

'I... y-yeah,' Tony stuttered, mouth dry. 'He, uh... he's mine, right?'

'He has your eyes,' Frigga said. 'The resemblance is rather striking.'

'Right,' Tony grunted. 'Everyone sees me as an asshole, you know, but I'd never abandon my kid.'

Frigga smiled. 'You love him already, and you haven't met.'

'He's family,' Tony said. 'Loki, too.'

Frigga's smile widened. 'I think that you and I will get along well, Anthony.'

'Uh... 'kay,' was all Tony could say.

'Now tell me,' Frigga continued as they turned down a hallway, then went down some steps. 'What made you think that it was a good idea to lay with my son when he had clearly been through mental and physical torture?'

Tony almost fell down the stairs.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey, peeps! I'd planned on posting this chapter last week, 'cause I wrote it last week, but I got called in for Jury Duty, then put on a trial, so I've been stuck in court all week. The trial still isn't over, so I'm most likely going to be gone all of next week, too. But we'll see what happens.

Thanks for all the reviews, I appreciate them! Enjoy,

Dreamer

* * *

Loki heard them before he saw them; his mother was asking question after question, not really waiting for Stark to reply. Stark sounded flustered and out of his depth, which made Loki smile briefly before he bit into another roll.

Loki didn't know what he was going to say to Stark. Maybe the mortal was only here because Frigga had dragged him down. That made sense. Loki seriously doubted that Stark wanted to be a father, especially to a babe that was only half Midgardian.

They finally reached Loki's cell and Stark almost tripped over himself. Frigga kept him on his feet and smiled brightly at Loki. Loki narrowed his eyes.

'Loki, look who wanted to visit,' Frigga said. She stepped up to the cell and _pushed _Stark through, the man stumbling and having to grab onto the table to keep himself upright. 'I shall leave you two alone,' Frigga said before turning and walking away, her boots clicking along the stone floor.

When the footsteps faded, Loki looked at Stark. Stark was staring at the bassinet.

'You can leave now,' Loki said into the silence. 'Or my mother may be waiting at the end of the room, so sit down and wait for a bit. _Then _you can leave.'

'Uh... what?' Stark blinked rapidly as he tore his eyes away from the bassinet. 'What?'

Loki sighed and put his fork down. 'Do not pretend that you wish to be here, Stark. My mother no doubt used force to drag you down here. If you wish to wait a while before making your escape, feel free to do so.'

'My... no, I _want _to be here,' Stark said.

'Do you?' Loki sniffed.

Stark was scowling now. 'He's my kid, too.'

Loki slowly pushed himself away from the table and stood. In two short steps he was looming over Stark and felt satisfaction curl heavy in his gut when the mortal flinched. 'He is _my son_, Stark, not yours,' the Jötunn growled. 'I carried him and I birthed him. I am caring for him, and will continue to do so for as long as I live. You helped create him, nothing more.'

Stark stood tall, his head somewhere around Loki's shoulder, which was amusing. What he said was not. 'I helped create him, Loki, that means I can fucking see him, alright? I _want _to see him. My dad was never around, and when he was I wanted to be anywhere else. I will _not _let my kid grow up not knowing that I love him.'

'Love?' Loki scoffed. 'You don't _know him_!'

'Neither do you!' Stark shouted. 'He was born, what, today?'

'I know him better than you.'

'Are we seriously fighting over who _knows him better_?' Stark demanded, looking incredulous. 'He's not even a day old!'

Their shouting had woken Andon, who started wailing and beating his fists against the blanket cocooning him. Loki growled at Stark but turned to pick his son up. Stark was right there, breath caught in his throat as he finally set eyes on Loki's- _their_ son.

'Oh my God,' Stark breathed.

Loki rolled his eyes as he fussed with Andon, getting the babe comfortable in his arms. Andon whimpered and batted one tiny fist against Loki's tunic, fingers too small and weak to grab onto it.

Sighing, Loki said, '_Fine_,' and held the babe out to Stark.

'What?' the mortal gaped.

'If you wish to know him, then get to know him,' Loki scowled. 'I would never keep you from him, Stark, Andon deserves better than that. But so help me if you _drop him_-'

'I won't drop him!' Stark interrupted. His eyes turned greedy, then, and he eagerly took Andon in his arms. He held him perfectly, like he had done so before, and cooed when Andon's eyes opened. 'Shit, he does look like me,' Stark huffed. 'I have baby photos of myself, you know. He's got my eyes. He's got your colouring, though.'

Yes. For now, Andon was as pale as Loki was, but his cheeks glowed pink with good health.

'He can turn blue, you know,' Loki murmured.

Stark frowned but didn't take his eyes off of Andon. 'Blue?'

'My true skin colour, Stark,' Loki said. He held a hand above Andon's body and forced his fingers to turn blue. Thick ridges rose up on the back of his hand, snaking beneath the sleeve of his tunic. Stark's eyes widened

'Whoa.'

'Indeed,' Loki sniffed. He withdrew his hand and shook it, the colour still disgusting, even now.

'So... Andon can do that?' Stark asked.

The name fell from Stark's lips easily, a warm sort of smile accompanying it.

Loki frowned before saying, 'Yes. He is a shapeshifter, like me, but too young to control himself. Turning blue is because he is half-Jötunn. It is in his blood.'

'Right,' Stark said, 'so my kid can turn blue? That's pretty awesome.'

Loki snorted.

'What?' Stark asked, eyes darting up to Loki before turning back to Andon. Loki couldn't fault him; he himself found it difficult to look away from the perfect creature that they had created.

'Nobody in Asgard would agree with you, Stark.'

''Cause Jötnar are their enemies, right?' Stark asked. When Loki nodded, Stark scoffed. 'Whatever, I don't care what Asgard thinks. If they say anything I'll give 'em a good replusor blast to the face... shit, where _is _my suit? I hope Bruce has it.'

Loki wasn't sure what to say. He remained silent as Stark bounced Andon gently, grinning when the babe yawned or sniffed or... did anything, really. Eventually Stark sat at the table, in the seat beside Loki's own, and Loki joined him.

'Didn't meant to interrupt dinner,' Stark murmured. 'You can eat if you want.'

'I can do whatever I want, whenever I want,' Loki sniffed, more out of habit, and Stark chuckled.

'Yeah, yeah, Reindeer Games.'

'Call me that again and I will stab you,' Loki growled.

'Not in front of the baby!' Stark gasped dramatically.

Loki rolled his eyes and went back to his food. He had begun eating a good ten minutes earlier, and so far none of his dinner had made a reappearance. Hopefully that meant that he could keep it all down.

He spread soft cheese across the remainder of his roll and nibbled on it, eyes focused on Stark and Andon. After a few minutes he finished his roll and moved onto the crackers and vegetables, bypassing the meat for now.

'Oh, okay,' Stark said, and Loki looked up.

'Problem?' he demanded.

'Yeah, baby boy needs a diaper change,' Stark said. He stood and looked around. 'You got diapers?'

'I am assuming that you mean a nappy,' Loki said.

'Nappy, diaper, whatever,' Stark rolled his eyes. 'You got some?'

'My mother should have brought some,' Loki said. He stood and started looking through the clothes his mother had brought. He eventually found a cloth nappy as well as the liner, and handed both to Stark.

'Where can I change him?' Stark asked.

'My cot,' Loki told him.

Stark nodded and moved to the cot, Loki following a step behind. Stark laid Andon out on the bed and unwrapped the blanket, then fiddled with the babe's coverall until Andon was naked. He had made a mess of the suit and Loki winced; he hadn't even thought of putting a cloth nappy on Andon when he had dressed him.

Stark didn't say anything, though. He just removed the coverall and used it to wipe Andon clean, only stopping to ask Loki for a glass of water. Loki handed him a cup and Stark wet Andon briefly, his eyes widening when Andon's skin turned blue.

'Jötunn, right,' Stark murmured. He finished cleaning and drying the babe, then quickly and efficiently put the nappy on him, the liner pressed inside.

'How do you know how to do that?' Loki questioned when Stark reached for a clean coverall.

'One of my nannies when I was a kid had two children,' Stark told him. 'Her daughter was three, her son barely a year old. I watched her change and dress him all the time. I even babysat, sometimes.' He shrugged. 'It wasn't _really _babysitting, I was, like... ten or eleven. I didn't have any friends and their mom, Carla, let me play with them. When my dad found out he fired her. She lives in Greece, now. There we go!' Stark grinned at Andon as he re-wrapped him. 'Who's a clean boy, huh?' He lifted Andon back into his arms and continued to babble at him, the baby yawning and blinking, no doubt wondering just who the hell Stark was.

Loki was wondering about Stark, too. He had been sure that the man didn't have a maternal bone in his body, yet here he was, easily changing Andon and caring for him. Loki had thought that he would be a terrible parent, too, right up until he set eyes on Andon for the first time.

There was nothing Loki wouldn't do for Andon... it seemed that Stark felt the same way.

'Thank you,' Loki murmured.

He expected Stark to laugh at him, but the mortal just smiled and nodded. Loki's lips twitched but he pushed the smile down. Stark could change a nappy, that was all. It didn't mean that he would be here for Andon.

He hadn't proven himself to Loki just yet.

'Are you hungry?' Loki asked.

It was an olive branch and Stark took it, his smile widening. He followed Loki back to the table and they both sat. Loki prepared a plate for Stark, choosing foods that would be familiar to the Midgardian, but foods that Stark could eat one-handed.

'Thanks,' Stark said and nibbled on a vegetable, eyes once more on Andon.

Loki allowed himself to smile then; it was brief and it was small and it was gone before Stark could see it. He shoved food into his mouth after that.

{oOo}

'You know, I didn't think I was ready to be a father,' Tony commented. 'Right up until I saw him.'

'Oh?' Loki hummed. He sounded disinterested, but Tony could see the Trickster looking at him from the corner of his eye.

'Yeah,' Tony nodded. 'I was all prepared to yell at you for not telling me you could get pregnant.'

Loki snorted. 'I wasn't in my right mind, Stark. All I wanted was comfort.'

Tony nodded; yeah, he knew that now. Knew it then, too. He just hadn't realised _exactly _what had happened to Loki. He still didn't, but he could guess. He'd been tortured before.

He shook his head, not wanting to think about that crap when he had his newborn son in his arms. And _shit_, how weird was that? The entire world had been ready for this day, Tony knew. With the way he slept around it was amazing that he hadn't knocked some woman up already. He'd had two pregnancy scares when he was younger, but a quick test had saved his ass.

Now here he was, in _Asgard_, with the other-father of his son. And God did Andon look like a weird alien creature, what with his red and scrunched up face. But he was still breathtaking and Tony could imagine putting him down to sleep in the penthouse, redecorating the guest room just for Andon, making it into a bedroom, a _home_. He'd make Iron Man toys and Hulk plushies. Andon would never want for anything, and Tony would always be there, unlike his own parents. He'd sell Stark Industries for Andon. He'd give up _Iron Man _for Andon.

And that was what told Tony that he had already lost. Andon was a few hours old and Tony was ready to give him the world.

'I was ready to be one of those dads who only sees their kid every other weekend,' Tony admitted. He shifted Andon and grinned when the baby made a soft noise. 'I wasn't gonna ignore him, you know? My dad did that and I hated him; still do. It messed me up. I didn't want Andon to hate me or be like me.'

Loki nodded.

'But then I saw him and... I always thought it was bullshit, when women say that the pain of childbirth doesn't matter when you first see your kids. And those dads who say that they freaked out right up until they held their kid in their arms. But now...' he looked up at Loki, who's eyes were narrowed.

'Now?' the god prompted.

'Now I don't ever wanna let him go,' Tony said, shrugging one shoulder gently. 'I wanna watch him grow up and buy him stuff and take him to soccer games and shit. I want him to trust me and love me and know that I'll always be here. I'm not even pissed at you any more for not telling me that this could happen, 'cause he's here and awesome and I love him more than I've loved anything ever.'

Loki gulped and toyed with his cup, the bottom scraping along the top of the wooden table. 'I know,' he finally murmured. 'I was disgusted with myself for forgetting what I am when I spent the morning with you.'

Tony glanced up. Loki looked... torn, like he didn't want to talk about this, but like he couldn't stop himself.

'I hated myself and wished that it had never happen,' Loki said. 'I wasn't aware that I was pregnant until I was six or so months along. I spent the following days unable to sleep or keep food down, knowing that I would ruin the child and that they would hate me.' He sighed and pushed his glass aside. 'And then I saw him and I...'

'Fell in love,' Tony supplied.

'Yes,' Loki agreed.

Tony nodded slowly and looked back down at Andon. Loki did, too. 'What do we do now?' Tony asked.

'I don't know,' the mage admitted. 'But I won't keep you from our child, Stark. Even I am not that cruel.'

'I didn't say you were,' Tony replied. 'Not everybody thinks the worst of you, Loki. Thor was prepared to choke me because he thought I'd dishonoured you and your family.'

'You have,' Loki said and he was smirking when Tony looked at him. 'Members of the Royal Family aren't supposed to be born out of wedlock. I was never stripped of my title, so Andon is a Prince of Asgard.'

Tony blinked.

'I have brought shame on the name of Odin for producing an illegible heir,' Loki laughed. 'Not that it matters. I refuse to be named Odinson.'

'Well,' Tony said slowly, 'kids are born out of wedlock all the time on Earth. So you fit right in.'

Loki gave him a broken smile, but it was a bit of a real one. Loki had never fit in anywhere, but on Earth? Yeah, he could totally live on Earth and raise Andon. Then Tony could see his kid all the time. Hell, Loki could move into the Tower if he wanted, Tony didn't care. He just wanted Andon around all the time.

And having Loki around all the time? Well, Tony wouldn't mind that one bit.

'Look, Loki,' Tony said, breaking the silence. Loki's head jerked up. 'I can't promise that it's all gonna be good. I'm gonna fuck up a lot, it's what I do.'

'We have that in common, then,' Loki murmured.

'Yeah,' Tony said, 'and I'm probably gonna piss you off a lot. But him?' Tony held Andon up slightly. 'I want to give him _everything_. I'll move here if that's what it takes, and there's no _electricity _here. I _can _promise you that I'll do my best, for you and for him.'

Loki stared at him.

'It's probably not enough,' Tony said. 'But it's all I can offer.'

'It's enough,' Loki said, words soft. He sipped from a fresh cup of water. 'You wanting to be here for him is enough, Stark. It's... a good start.'

'Okay,' Tony smiled, 'that's... that's good.'

'It is,' Loki agreed.

Tony grinned. 'Good.' Then he went right back to staring at Andon. But it was okay, he assumed, 'cause Loki was doing the same.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

Tony eventually put Andon back in his bassinet. He felt cold as soon as he did, though didn't voice it; Loki was already smirking at him because it'd taken him a good ten minutes to actually put Andon down. The little bugger was heavy and Tony's arms ached, but still...

He sighed and sat back at the table, finally digging into the enormous amount of food somebody had brought Loki. Loki was done and leaning back in his seat, drinking water.

'Not a wine fan?' Tony asked as he poured himself a glass. The bottle was large- the glasses, too- and smelled like some type of fruit.

'I'm breastfeeding,' Loki said.

Tony nearly dropped the bottle. 'What?'

'Hermaphrodite, Stark,' Loki said and pointed at himself. 'I birthed Andon naturally and I'm feeding him naturally. There are some milks that babes can be fed if the mother is unable to produce enough, but I'd rather do this naturally.' He tilted his head. 'Does that bother you?'

'Uh, no?' Tony frowned at him; Loki looked surprised. 'We have intersex people on Earth, Loki. And transgender people. You breastfeeding our kid really isn't that shocking.'

Loki just stared at him, apparently lost for words. Tony grinned brightly.

'Stop smiling, Stark,' Loki grunted.

'Never,' Tony replied.

Loki sighed. 'You're going to annoy me for the rest of Andon's life, aren't you?'

Tony hummed at that. 'Will he live as long as you, do you think?'

'Perhaps,' Loki said. 'He will certainly have a much longer lifespan than you, but he is only half-Jötunn. When the time comes I will offer him a Golden Apple so that his life is extended even more.'

'Golden... wait, so those things are real?' Tony asked. When Loki raised an eyebrow, Tony said, 'I've been doing a lot of research since you and Thor fell from the sky. The Golden Apples are real?'

'Indeed,' Loki said.

Tony thought that over as he nibbled on a piece of... something. It was meat, looked kinda like chicken. Tasted kinda like duck. He wondered why the Golden Apples offered longevity. Was magic involved? Did the actual apples chemically change a person, stop them from aging? If so, _how_?

'Hey, do you think I could look at these apples?' Tony queried.

'Thinking of smuggling some out, Stark?' Loki asked, sounding amused.

'No, but now that you say it...' Tony laughed and shook his head. 'No, I wanna study them. _Why _do they make you people live longer? Is it magic or chemicals? I'm gonna be here a while, right? I should have the time for a few projects.'

Loki swallowed a mouthful of water before saying, 'You will be here for at least a week.'

'A week?'

'My mother said that I should be given a week to bond with Andon before I speak with the Allfather. My trial hasn't yet begun, and I'm unsure of how long that will take.'

'You haven't been tried yet?' Tony asked with a frown.

Loki shook his head. 'When I was brought back Thor spoke to my mother and the Allfather. Odin demanded to know what had happened when I fell from the Bifröst. He is a warrior, he knows of torture. But I...'

'You refused to talk,' Tony murmured, remembering what Thor had said when he'd first told Tony about Andon.

'Yes,' Loki said. 'I didn't want my freedom, Stark. I wanted the nightmares to stop. I wanted the memories to be erased. I've been here for nine months and neither has happened. Now, with Andon, it's time that I told the Allfather of the war that is approaching.'

'Yeah, Thor mentioned that,' Tony said. 'What war?'

'The creature who found me is beyond anything you can imagine,' Loki told him. 'He is powerful and he will stop at nothing to complete his goals. The Allfather has fought him before, it was before my time. With the destruction of the Chitauri fleet, the Titan will turn his sights on Midgard,' Loki said. 'He will want to destroy the warriors who destroyed his soldiers. That means that he will come after you.'

Tony wet his lips. Well... it wouldn't be the first time someone came after him with the intention of killing him.

'I had planned to run when I realised that I was pregnant,' Loki admitted after a brief silence, 'but I couldn't escape before his birth. Now that you know, my mother and Thor, I... cannot leave just yet.'

Tony looked up sharply and his heart dropped. 'You're leaving?'

'Perhaps,' Loki said. 'I want to take Andon away from Asgard and away from where the Mad Titan will eventually end up. But...' his eyes found Tony's, unsure and hooded. 'I do not know, now,' he said. 'My plans have changed.'

'O-Okay,' Tony stuttered. He took a deep breath. 'If you, um... if you run, could you tell me?' Tony said. 'I'd like-'

'Of course,' Loki interrupted. 'I would not take Andon without telling you, Stark. Not now.'

Tony nodded. 'Good, that's... that's good.' Fuck, he'd been about to freak out. He'd only just found out about his son, had only just met him, and already he didn't want to leave him. The thought of Andon being taken away from him forever, and Tony being completely unable to find him? _Fuck_.

'I... you have my apologies,' Loki said, frowning at him. 'I didn't mean to-'

'No, it's... don't worry about it,' Tony said quickly. He gave Loki a fake smile and went back to his food.

Loki sighed. 'I don't think we should be lying to each other this early in parenthood, Stark.'

Tony rolled his eyes and said, 'It's not like we're in a relationship.'

'Aren't we?' Loki raised an eyebrow. 'We have a son, Stark. We might not be in an amorous relationship, but we are still in a _relationship_. We will be raising him together, after all.'

'Will we?' Tony asked. ''Cause that's still confusing me, just a bit. Are you gonna stay here? Do I actually _have _to move here to see my kid? Or will I be travelling every weekend?'

'I have no wish to raise Andon in Asgard, Stark,' Loki said. 'I hated my childhood and I have always hated living here amongst the narrow-minded, judgemental Æsir. I lived in Vanaheimr for a number of years but my mother wanted me home.'

'So you're gonna raise him in Vanaheimr?' Tony asked, frowning.

Loki sighed. '_No_, Stark. If the Allfather lets me leave I will raise him on Midgard.'

Tony blinked. 'Oh.'

'Yes, _oh_,' Loki snorted. 'Midgard, from what I have seen, is the most accepting Realm apart from Álfheimr. Seeing as how I have no wish to constantly surround myself with Light Elves, I will move to Midgard. I am stronger than any Midgardian, so I can protect Andon. And you will be there.'

Tony grinned at that, but Loki was clearly taking great pains to ignore him. 'Admit it,' Tony said, 'you like me.'

'I loathe you,' Loki sniffed.

'Nah, you _liike _me,' Tony laughed. 'I've grown on you.'

'I will murder you in your sleep,' Loki grunted, glaring at him over their meal.

Tony just laughed again, then winced when Andon woke up. 'Damn it.'

'You are useless,' Loki said, but he was smiling- Tony could see it. He grinned as Loki went to get their son. Yeah, he was totally growing on Loki. Tony wasn't really sure why it was important that Loki _like _him, but he forgot all about it as soon as Loki sat at the table, Andon in his arms.

'Hey, little guy,' Tony whispered.

Loki was still smiling.

{oOo}

Odin nodded at his wife as she slid onto the seat beside him. Across the hall Thor was entertaining his shield-brothers... the Avengers, they had called themselves.

'How is Loki?' Odin asked.

'Recovering,' Frigga said. 'He does not believe that Anthony will want anything to do with the child.'

'And is he wrong?'

Frigga nodded. 'I could see it in his eyes, Odin. Anthony wants to be a father. And perhaps he will be good for Loki.'

'Indeed,' Odin agreed, 'from the conversations I have heard, the Man of Iron is similar to Loki in many ways.'

'Oh?'

'Mm,' Odin hummed. 'The archer. He said that Stark is chaotic. And insane. A word that has often been applied to Loki, despite it not being true.'

'Yes,' Frigga said, 'I feel that Anthony has been through much, like Loki has. Similar situations.'

Odin was quiet as he thought that over. He imagined his adopted son finally finding someone who understood him; someone who loved him for him, who could talk him through his nightmares, accept his faults... Loki deserved someone like that. Even if he and Stark simply became friends, it would be good for Loki.

'How is the babe?' Odin asked after a while.

'Well,' Frigga said. 'He really does look like Anthony, it is amazing.'

Odin hadn't met Stark yet, but he would, in time. He wanted to speak to the father of his grandson... and question how their union had come about.

'I will save discussing the war until after Loki has recovered,' he decided at length. 'One week, you said?'

'At least,' Frigga agreed. 'Give him time to get used to becoming a parent. And he and Anthony should bond with each other and Andon.'

Odin nodded. 'Very well. Will you look into housing our guests?'

Frigga smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. 'I will, husband.'

{oOo}

Tony was holding Andon again when Frigga returned. She smiled at the small family and said, 'Anthony, your fellow warriors are staying in Thor's wing. Where would you like to be placed?'

'Oh, uh...' Tony looked at Loki, who didn't comment. 'Um... I'd like to be near my son, but I suppose that isn't possible, right?'

'You could stay in one of the other cells, if you truly desired it,' Frigga said, head tilted. 'I could have someone fetch the appropriate necessities.'

'There is no need for you to stay here,' Loki said. 'Stay with your friends.'

'Well... can't you release Loki?' Tony asked Frigga. Loki frowned at him. 'Like... put him under house arrest?'

'That would only be possible if Odin granted it,' Frigga told him. 'But his magic would have to be dampened to ensure he does not try and escape.' She shot an apologetic look at Loki.

'Oh,' Tony frowned. 'I'll just stay down here, then.'

'No,' Loki snapped. He reached up to rub his face, sighing when he saw that both Tony and Frigga were staring at him. 'Tell the Allfather that I will agree to wear cuffs,' he said. 'I would like to take Andon outside, even if my magic is contained.'

Frigga stared at him for a beat before inclining her head. 'Very well,' she said. 'I will return with news.'

Loki thanked her and she left once more, Tony leaning back in his seat. He stroked Andon's pudgy cheek, unable, it seemed, to stop himself from _touching_.

'Do you think the King'll release you?' Tony asked.

'It depends on whether or not he thinks that what I suffered at the hands of the Other was punishment enough,' Loki shrugged.

'The Other?'

'The Mad Titan's servant,' Loki said. 'He was the one who provided me with the Chitauri and the sceptre I used to invade Barton's mind. He... watched while I was on Midgard. The Titan didn't think his own eyes were necessary to ensure victory.'

Tony scrutinised him before asking, 'You lost on purpose, didn't you?'

'But of course,' Loki replied easily. 'If I had won I would never have been rid of the Other or the Titan. And I would have had to rule Midgard. I do not want to be a King, Stark. Too many rules, too many voices you must listen to. I prefer to work in the shadows for myself, not others. Besides, if the Titan had laid his hands on the Tesseract, he would have eventually destroyed Asgard, Jötunheimr, Vanaheimr, Midgard... he would no doubt have taken over the galaxy, given enough time.'

'I think you've suffered enough, for what it's worth,' Tony said. 'And if Odin agrees, we'll get the charges dropped back home. With me and Thor on your side, SHIELD will have to forgive you. Or, well, stop trying to hunt you, at least.'

'It matters little to me,' Loki said. 'I can change my shape and blend in with you mortals. As long as Andon is safe...'

Tony nodded and leaned back in his seat. Andon gurgled in his arms. 'Hey, where'd you get "Andon" from, anyway? Is it a Norse name?'

'No,' Loki said, 'I don't know where it came from. About a month ago the name just came to me and...' He shrugged.

'Uh-huh,' Tony mused. 'Kinda sounds like "Anton".'

'Anton?'

'It's a Russian name,' Tony said. 'A variant of Anthony.'

'Variant?'

'Well, yeah,' Tony said. 'A variant's basically the same name, only changed a bit to fit better with another language or culture. Like in Italian my name is Antonio. The original form of my name is Antony, which comes from the Roman family name Antonius. Humans change names all the time; the spelling, the length, etcetera.'

'Why?' Loki frowned.

'There are a lot of us,' Tony said. 'People get creative; don't want their kid to be one of a dozen named Anthony or Jessica or Michael. So they change the name.'

'Hmm,' Loki hummed, 'it seems confusing. You Midgardians should stop copulating so much.'

Tony snorted. 'Don't need to tell me that. But, you know, if people wanna have kids, they're gonna have kids. It isn't really my place to tell them not to.'

'Are you going to tell the world?' Loki asked. 'About Andon?' he added when Tony looked at him.

'You mean the media?' he asked. When Loki nodded, Tony said, 'Well, yeah. It'll be obvious that I've got a kid when I go out in public with him...' he frowned, 'unless you don't want me to?'

'You can do whatever you wish, Stark,' Loki said. 'As long as your media know that I will kill anyone who tries to touch my babe.'

'I'm completely with you on that one,' Tony agreed. 'They'll take pictures and talk about him, but as long as they don't touch him or spread shit about him, then I don't care. They've stalked me my entire life, I can't exactly stop them now.'

Andon started fussing, and apparently a certain noise or face he made meant that he was hungry. Tony handed him over after Loki had whipped his shirt off, and Tony watched unashamed as Loki breastfed the baby.

It was... weird, Tony could admit, but only because Loki _looked _like a guy. Otherwise it was just a parent feeding their kid. He leaned back in his seat and threaded his fingers over his stomach, content to watch Loki bond with Andon.

It was going well so far, Tony thought. He and Loki hadn't really come to blows, and Loki seemed willing to let Tony be a part of Andon's life. It was more than Tony could have hoped for; more than he _had _hoped for, considering that he'd originally planned on being more of a weekend-dad than anything else.

He couldn't do that now. Not after spending time with Andon and holding him and... he was just a baby, not capable of saying anything or connecting with Tony, really. But _fuck _did Tony feel connected. That was his _kid_. So fuck anyone who tried to come between them, Loki included. Tony was going to be around for as long as he lived.

_And if I can steal one of those Golden Apples, I'll be around for most of Andon's life, _Tony thought. Because there was no way in _hell _that he was only gonna be with his son for another thirty or forty years.

He hoped that wherever these apples were wasn't guarded too heavily. And if it was, well... he was Tony fucking Stark; he could figure anything out, given enough time.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

When Frigga returned it was with cuffs that she fitted around Loki's wrists. They weren't chained together, so at least Loki had free use of his arms and hands.

Loki seemed shocked that the King had agreed to let him out, but didn't say anything as he collected Andon and held him close to his chest. Tony grabbed one of the bags Frigga had brought and shoved some clothing into it. One of the guards took the bassinet and, with their arms laden, Frigga led them from the cells and up into the palace.

The place really was pretty beautiful, but Tony was too exhausted to truly appreciate it. He hadn't slept in at least three days, and he'd been held up against a wall by a very pissed off Norse God. That, coupled with suddenly having a _son _and travelling to another _Realm _meant that Tony was dead on his feet by the time they arrived at their new quarters.

'Anthony, your rooms are next door,' Frigga explained after the guards had left, Andon's bassinet now at the end of Loki's bed. 'These rooms connect to each other, which I thought you might need.' She looked at Andon as she said it, and Tony nodded.

'Yeah, that's fine. Thank you.'

'Yes, Mother,' Loki agreed. He'd placed Andon back in his bassinet and straightened. 'Thank you.'

Frigga smiled and hugged her son, so Tony turned away to give them some privacy. He unloaded the bags that had been brought up but left everything on the bed, unsure where Loki wanted to put everything.

By the time Frigga left, telling them that neither had to be anywhere any time soon, Tony had unpacked everything. He swivelled to look at Loki, who was flexing his fingers and glaring at the cuffs wrapped around his wrists. They were large and made of bronze, Tony thought, intricately carved with runes and circling Loki's arms from his wrists to halfway up his forearms.

'Hey,' Tony said and Loki's eyes snapped to his, 'they're just temporary, right?'

'Perhaps,' Loki said. He shook his head. 'Help me put Andon's things away.'

Tony did as asked- told? That sounded more like an order. Anyway, he helped Loki put everything away, and when he was done Loki said, 'You look as tired as I am.'

Tony looked at Loki _properly _then, and realised that he looked far more exhausted than Tony did. There were deep purple bruises beneath his eyes, his hair was long, a mess, and his clothes hung off of him... he'd lost weight since Tony had last seen him, which wasn't good; Loki was already lanky. Only his stomach held any weight, and Tony was pretty sure it was just from having been pregnant.

He hadn't realised just how terrible Loki looked when he'd first stepped into that cell... but to be fair, he _had _been setting eyes on his son for the first time.

'Shit, yeah, you look terrible,' Tony said.

'Charming, Stark,' Loki drawled. 'Please see yourself out. I'm going to bathe and sleep.'

'You sure?' Tony asked.

Loki raised an eyebrow. 'Why wouldn't I be?'

'I don't, uh... I was just thinking that, maybe, one of us should watch Andon?'

'He will be fine,' Loki said. 'The doors lock and I will wake if he needs anything.'

'Right... okay, then,' Tony said. He shuffled back, half looking over his shoulder, and stared even when he'd closed the door connecting their rooms. He stared at the door before huffing and muttering, 'Get yourself together, Tony. It's just a few hours.'

He continued muttering to himself, even when he'd toed his boots off, tossed his jeans into a corner, and fallen onto the, frankly ridiculous, bed. It was large and soft and the _blankets, oh my God!_ Tony managed to keep his eyes open for about a minute before he fell asleep.

{oOo}

Loki checked that Andon was asleep one more time before entering the bathroom. He filled the tub with hot water and shed his clothing and slipped into the tub. He groaned as the hot water soaked into his muscles.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a nice, hot bath. The cleaning facilities in the cells offered a simple pipe that trickled cold water, and before that Loki had only been offered a chance to clean himself in a cold stream before he was sent to Midgard.

He'd bathed on Midgard, in Stark's ridiculously large shower. He'd been fed and and given a warm bed to sleep in.

Tony Stark had been a puzzle, even after Loki had learned who he was. When he'd first arrived on Midgard he'd been traumatised, recovering from torture, lacking any of his usual wit and charm. He'd found himself in some sort of drinking establishment, trying to figure out where he could find out about the planet's defences before he tried to take it over.

Stark had sat in the booth with him, had tried to charm him until he'd gotten a good look at Loki's face and shaking hands. After that it was all concern and offers and it somehow ended with Loki sleeping in the man's Tower without the man in the room.

Loki remembered the next morning clearly. He'd woken and bathed and found Stark in the kitchen trying to cook eggs and what he'd called "bacon". He'd failed a number of times, had burnt himself more than once, but had set the finished product before Loki with a smile that still made Loki's belly warm.

After that, well... Loki's stomach had been full, he had felt warm and comfortable and _safe_, and Stark had spent half of the morning staring at Loki's fingers and neck and arse. Loki had wanted more comfort, the feel of warm flesh against his own, gasps of pleasure to drown out the screaming in his head. Stark was a handsome man, funny and charming and brilliant...

And now they had a son. And Stark was here, on Asgard, willing to throw everything away for Andon. It made Loki want to smile and his magic sang beneath his skin, even though it was trapped. Stark made Loki feel confused and warm and comfortable and _uncomfortable _because nobody _ever _made Loki feel comfortable. Not even Thor, nor Frigga. Not any more.

Yet all Stark did was waltz in and smile and _talk _and suddenly Loki _wanted him_.

He groaned and leaned back, eyes on the dark ceiling. His life was a mess, and he had to straighten it out for his son. The last thing he needed was feelings for Stark. The man was mortal and insane and enjoyed fighting supper villains in a tin suit.

No, Loki didn't need that. Stark would be a father for Andon, a... a friend for Loki. That was it.

'A friend,' Loki mused aloud. He'd never had one of those before.

Shaking his head, Loki spent a few more minutes just enjoying the hot water before he sat up and scrubbed himself clean. He washed his hair and had to dry it manually when he removed himself from the tub. It was still damp when he braided it and tied it off at the end, but he ignored it in favour of dressing in a comfortable tunic and sleep-pants.

Andon was sound asleep, little chest rising and falling with each breath. Loki watched him for a while, he didn't know the exact minutes. Eventually he leaned down and kissed the babe's plump cheek, smiling when Andon snuffled in his sleep. With that done, Loki moved the bassinet closer to the bed before climbing in.

It was soft- too soft, after sleeping on that prison cot for so many months. He pushed some of the blankets to the floor and then got comfortable. He was laying on his side, eyes on the bassinet, and they remained there until he fell asleep.

{oOo}

When Tony woke up it took him a few seconds to remember that he was in Asgard. A few more seconds and he remembered _why _he was in Asgard. He jumped to his feet and stumbled out of bed, nearly falling and braining himself on one of the side tables. He managed to right himself, though, and rushed over to the door-

No, wait. Tony frowned and looked down at himself. He was only wearing boxer-briefs and a t-shirt, and he probably looked like shit, and... he kinda smelled, too. When was the last time he'd showered? Before he went on a science binge, so... too many days.

Tony realised that he should probably freshen up a bit before he went to see his baby son again. The last thing he needed was Loki tossing him out because of his dirty fingers.

Tony turned and stepped away from the door that joined his quarters and Loki's. He spotted a suitcase at the end of the bed and frowned as he wandered over to it. 'Huh,' he said when he'd unzipped it. Someone- Steve?- had packed clothes for him; jeans, t-shirts, sweaters and jackets. Even shoes, socks and _underwear_.

God, it probably _was _Steve. He and Bruce were the only ones who would go through Tony's underwear drawer. Natasha always refused to go anywhere near anything that had come into contact with Tony's lower half, and Clint wouldn't have packed any briefs... or he would have only packed the few pink pairs that Tony had.

He grabbed some boxers, a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt, before wandering around the room trying to find the bathroom... eventually he stumbled through a door and into a room made of stone, a large clawfoot bathtub sitting pride and centre. The sink was more of a _pool _attached to one wall, and there didn't appear to be a shower. Tony wondered if everything in Asgard was enormous as he fiddled with the taps, trying to find the hot water.

He managed it eventually, used the perfumed oil that was sitting in a glass jar beside the tub. It kinda smelled fruity, but Tony didn't care all that much. He just wanted to get clean as quickly as possible so he could see his son.

His hair was still wet when he drained the tub, but Tony ignored it in favour of dashing across his room and into Loki's. He wondered if Andon was awake, if Loki had fed him, if they could go for a walk, show Andon the sunlight and the sky and all the trees and-

Tony slipped into Loki's room and glanced over at the bed. Loki was still asleep, a thin sheet twisted around his body. There were blankets and sheets on the floor, some damp with sweat... Tony frowned as he slowly closed the door, careful not to make too much noise. He wondered how often Loki had been up since they'd parted ways; he'd probably got up to feed Andon and... he'd probably had a few nightmares going by the state of the sheets. There were also sweat-stained clothes tossed into one corner, and Tony's frown deepened.

Tony knew all about nightmares; he'd had a fair amount over the years, _many _since he was kidnapped, a _shit tonne _since Loki's invasion. The fact that he hadn't had one last night was shocking, but Tony supposed that the combination of lack of sleep, inter-Realm travel, and finding out that he was a dad had kept the nightmares at bay. Clearly the same hadn't happened to Loki.

Shaking his head, Tony tip-toed over to the bassinet. Andon was awake and staring up at the ceiling- not that he could stare at much else, really. His eyes immediately locked onto Tony and he blinked, drool collecting in the corners of his plush red lips.

'Hey there, little guy,' Tony whispered. 'Wanna spend some time with Daddy?'

Andon made some type of noise- a coo? A gurgle? Whatever, it was _cute as fuck_\- and Tony took it as an affirmative. He carefully lifted the baby out of the bassinet and Andon waved his pudgy arms about, getting Tony in the face before Tony could settle him in his arms.

'Hey, watch the face,' Tony huffed, 'that's a money maker, kid. You'll find that out when you're older.'

It really was _startling _how much Andon looked like a baby Tony; same hair, same eyes, same face... would the kid look _anything _like Loki when he grew up?

Tony shifted Andon in his arms and wandered over to the large armchair in the corner. It was made of leather and had a soft green blanket thrown over the back. It was situated next to the window, and Tony took a good look at the view before bending down.

He laid Andon on the chair and undressed him, moving slowly and carefully to make sure that Andon didn't start wailing and wake Loki. The baby needed a diaper change, and Tony was proud of how quick he managed it. Andon kicked his little legs and Tony grinned, squeezing his toes. God, the kid was so _small_.

When Andon had a fresh diaper on as well as a new onesie, Tony lifted him back up and took a seat, sighing as he leaned back to get comfortable. He looked back at Andon and tried to imagine the baby with Loki's bright green eyes; his ink black hair and pale skin and... wow, yeah, that'd be pretty awesome. Or a kid with Loki's eyes and Tony's hair; a little girl with emerald eyes and messy black hair who grinned sharply at-

Tony jolted in his seat and Andon cried out, startled from where he'd been exploring Tony's beard with his eyes.

'Shh, shh,' Tony hummed, 'sorry, Andy. Daddy's just going insane, is all.' Andon went quiet and Tony breathed out a sigh of relief. A quick glance at the bed showed that Loki was still asleep, thank God. It'd just be like Loki to somehow read Tony's mind and discover what he was thinking.

_A little girl with Loki's eyes? What the fuck? _Okay, so Loki was hot. And he and Tony clearly made beautiful babies together. But that didn't mean that they should make _more babies together_. They didn't even know each other, and Loki had very recently tried to take over Earth. Tony was a super hero and Loki was a super villain.

Loki was also brilliant, clever, witty, chaotic, _gorgeous_...

'Damn it,' Tony groaned. He sank further into the armchair and tugged gently on one of Andon's legs. 'Who's an idiot, Andy? Is it me? Stare at me if it is.'

Andon stared at him.

'Good boy,' Tony praised. He shook his head and firmly told himself to _get a fucking grip _before he went right back to staring at Andon. Andon Lokason. _His son_. 'Andon Stark,' he mused as he held the baby, Andon seemingly quite happy to enjoy the quiet time. 'Andon Lokason-Stark sounds good, doesn't it?' Andon drooled. 'Yeah it does.'

Tony realised that this was the first time he'd been alone with Andon since being told of his existence. Well, Loki was there, but he was unconscious so it didn't count. Tony was a dad. He, Tony Stark, had a son. He was now responsible for another life. He'd get to watch Andon grow up, become his own little person. He'd be there when Andon decided what food he loved and what he hated; what TV shows he liked and what music he'd want to rock out to when he was a teenager.

Jesus, Tony could introduce his kid to AC/DC and Black Sabbath. Hell, he'd let his kid listen to Justin Bieber if it made Andon happy.

Tony'd be there for first girlfriends or boyfriends or neither. He'd drive Andon to school and watch him grow and _holy fucking hell..._

'Oh my God,' Tony breathed. 'If I screw this up I'm gonna kill myself, I swear. I'll hate myself forever and drink myself into an early grave.'

He poked one of Andon's cheeks gently, grinned when the baby turned towards his finger.

'You're beautiful, you know that?' Tony murmured. 'I bet you'll be clever, too. What with Loki being your... mom and all, you'll probably take over the world. Or all the Realms. Loki'd be proud if you did. I gotta be honest, buddy, I'd be proud, too. I could be the dad of Andon Stark, Emperor of the Galaxy.'

'Andon Lokason.'

Tony jumped and pressed his free hand to Andon's stomach, not wanting to jostle the baby too much. He looked up to see Loki staring at him from the bed. The Trickster looked a bit better than he had the day before, but not well-rested. Tony frowned while Loki sat up and yawned, pushing his messy black hair out of his face.

'Please don't rename our child while I'm asleep,' Loki mumbled.

'I wasn't renaming him,' Tony huffed. 'I was just sounding it out.'

'Mm,' Loki grunted. He swung himself from the bed and wandered into another room- the bathroom? When he came back his hair was braided and he seemed to be a bit more awake. 'Is he hungry?' Loki asked.

'Uh... dunno.' Tony shrugged. Loki crossed the room to lean over Tony, eyes on Andon, and Tony's eyes trailed down Loki's throat... he was wearing some type of linen tunic, the fabric dark green and the collar hanging low, showing his collarbones.

He gulped. God damn it.

'He appears to be fine,' Loki finally said and stood tall. 'Are _you _hungry, Stark?'

'Yeah, but I can wait,' Tony told him. 'I kinda just wanna spend some more time with Andon.'

'Mm,' Loki hummed again. 'It's finally hitting you, isn't it?' When Tony raised his eyebrows, Loki added, 'The realisation that you are responsible for another life; that you will watch him grow and mature.'

'Oh... yeah,' Tony breathed. His eyes darted back to Andon. 'I mean, I understood yesterday, and I freaked out a bit before leaving home, but... it's kinda all just hitting at once. I can't believe we _made _him, Loki. Look at him!'

'I know,' Loki said. He sounded like he was smiling, but when Tony looked up his face was blank.

'I'm kinda picturing his future,' Tony admitted while Loki sat on the windowsill beside him. 'What do you reckon he'll do when he gets older?'

'Apart from becoming Emperor of the Galaxy, you mean?' Loki asked, amusement colouring his words.

Tony scowled at him. 'Shut up, I wasn't being serious.'

'Oh, I truly do believe that _our _son could take over the galaxy if he wished,' Loki shrugged. 'But I will strongly suggest that he not. Too many people to take care of, too many idiotic humans constantly trying to capture you.'

Tony chuckled, 'Yeah, yeah, being a super villain is _so _hard.'

'Planning takes time,' Loki shrugged, 'but destroying things is _always _worth the hardship.'

'I know.' Tony grinned when the mage raised an eyebrow. 'Sometimes I purposely screw up a project to watch it blow up; old Iron Man suits, some chemicals, you know... let off some steam when I'm in a mood.' His eyes brightened. 'Do you think Andon would like to do that when he gets older?'

'Probably,' Loki said. 'He _is _our son.'

'Yeah,' Tony hummed. 'I'll build him his own little workshop. He can do whatever he wants in there.'

Loki leaned back against the windowsill, arms folded over his chest. 'How do you plan to introduce him to your public?'

'Huh?'

'Midgard's media, from what I understand, are invasive,' Loki said. 'We discussed this yesterday. They will want pictures and information; they will want to know who Andon's other parent is.'

'I'll tell 'em the truth,' Tony said, shrugging a shoulder. 'If we tell them that you're working with the Avengers to make up for what you did, the media will buy it and get over it, even if it isn't true. I'm not gonna lie about who Andon's other dad is.'

'Mother,' Loki corrected. 'I'm his mother.'

'Okay...' Tony mused, 'so... is he gonna _call you_ Mom?'

Loki tilted his head at that. 'I suppose that it does sound odd in English. It loses something in translation.' He hummed and stared at the wall over Tony's head.

'He could call you Papa,' Tony suggested. 'Or Father... Da... Pedar...'

'Pedar?' Loki questioned.

'Dad in Dari,' Tony said. 'Papa is kind of French and Italian, or Spanish. One of the words for "dad", anyway.'

'You speak multiple languages?' Loki asked, looking intrigued.

'Yeah,' Tony nodded. 'I speak English, Italian, French, Spanish and Dari. I had an Italian nanny when I was a kid, a fair few Spanish ones, and they taught me their languages. I learned French when I went to high school and Dari when I started making weapons for the Afghan National Army.'

Loki was still staring at him.

'Do you, uh... do you speak other languages?' Tony asked. 'You speak English really well... does everyone in Asgard speak English, or is it all Old Norse up here?'

'Old Norse, as you call it, is the native language of Asgard and Vanaheimr,' Loki said after about a minute of silence. 'Different... dialects are spoken throughout the Nine Realms. Midgard certainly has the most languages. I learned English before I came through the Tesseract. But other than that, no, I don't speak any other languages. The Allspeak makes it possible to understand all languages.'

'Allspeak...' Tony murmured, and Loki smirked.

'A combination of spell and potion that is gifted to the Royal Family, or those who have done something to gain the Allfather's favour; usually battle, which is why the Warriors Three and Sif were gifted.' Loki growled the last few words, and Tony decided not to ask about them just yet. He was pretty sure that the Warriors Three were Thor's friends, he'd mentioned them just before taking Loki back to Asgard. And Clint had once said something about an Asgardian Xena...

His attention was snapped up by Andon when the baby started waving his arms and making soft distressed noises. His lower lip quivered and he stared up at Tony with those matching big brown eyes and-

'He is hungry,' Loki sighed and stood to take his tunic off.

'Did he wake you up a lot last night?' Tony asked, passing the baby over.

'Three or so times,' Loki murmured.

'He's kinda quiet, isn't he?' Tony said. 'I remember Edwin saying that I was a noisy baby.'

'Edwin?'

'Edwin Jarvis,' Tony told him. 'He was my dad's butler. And my nanny. He helped raise me along with a dozen or so nannies. Mom and Dad didn't really have time for little Tony.'

He knew that he sounded bitter and kind of hated himself for it. He was forty-two years-old, he shouldn't still have fucking _daddy issues_.

If Loki heard his tone, he chose to ignore it, instead saying, 'My mother told me that I was a quiet baby; I rarely fussed, unlike Thor.'

'So Andon takes after you, then,' Tony said. 'I can live with that; my looks, your temperament.'

Loki snorted. 'Do you _want _our son to try and take over your planet when he matures?'

'Eh; I can live with that,' Tony repeated with a shrug. 'He'll love me and build me a huge workshop somewhere where I can live out the rest of my days tinkering with my many projects.'

'First Midgard; then, the galaxy.'

Tony laughed. 'Just think, Lokes. We'd be the parents of the Emperor!'

Loki shook his head but his lips were still pulled up into an _actual _smile. Tony's grin didn't fade, even when he and Loki fell into silence, Andon happily feeding in Loki's arms.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

**Author's Note:** So... how long has it been since I updated this story? Too long. Far, FAR too long. I have no intention of abandoning this story. I just have a lot of WIPs and very little say in what my muse writes. Anywho, here's another chapter! Hopefully it was worth the wait :)

Cheers,

Dreamer

* * *

Loki had been nodding on and off all morning, so Tony had suggested that they move onto the bed. And _no_, not in a sexy way; he wanted to stare at Andon, _Loki _wanted to stare at Andon, and Tony didn't want Loki to fall off the bed because he was too exhausted to remain upright.

So, compromise; they both laid on the bed with Andon between them, watching as the baby waved his arms about and kicked his little legs.

That was how Frigga found them; both cooing at the baby and making funny faces. Well, Tony was making funny faces, while Loki was rubbing Andon's belly and smiling like an idiot.

The Queen of Asgard cleared her throat and both Tony and Loki jumped like naughty children. Tony felt his face flush while Loki said, 'I suppose that knocking is out of the question, seeing as how I am still a prisoner.'

'I did knock, Loki,' she replied, 'but you failed to answer.'

Loki scowled at her, but Frigga ignored the look.

'You have both slept through breakfast and shouldn't skip any more meals- especially you, Loki.' Loki rolled his eyes and Tony bit back a grin. 'I would like you both to join me for lunch.'

'I am amendable,' Loki murmured. He glanced at Tony, who nodded.

'Yeah, sounds great,' he said. 'Are we eating here, or...?'

'Here is fine,' Frigga said, 'unless you would both like to get some fresh air? We can dine in the courtyard.'

Loki thought about that for about a minute before he nodded. 'I would like to feel the sun again,' he said, voice soft, before sliding off of the bed. Tony lifted Andon from the mattress and passed him to Loki, who fussed over the baby, getting him dressed into warmer clothing. Tony picked a hat out- it was bright orange and soft and Loki glared at the offending colours. 'Purple and orange do not match, Stark.'

'He's a baby; what does he care about matching colours?' Tony asked. 'Or are you gonna convince him to only wear green and gold?'

'I chose the purple leggings, did I not?' Loki shot back.

'Well I think orange and purple are _awesome_,' Tony said. 'And the yellow socks!'

'No.'

'Yes.'

'I will not- Stark, put them down!'

'Never!'

Tony managed to duck under Loki's hand, but got a slap to the back of the head when he pulled one of the _ridiculously tiny/adorable _socks onto Andon's foot.

'Ow, that hurt!' he pouted, then grinned when Loki sighed and snatched the other sock. He put it on Andon's bare foot, so Tony won, ha!

Next was a green... wrap-around tunic _thing_, seriously, Tony had no idea what any of Asgard's clothing was called. Anyway, a kind of red sweater went over the top of that, and then Loki handed Andon to Tony and went to get dressed.

'Crap, I need boots,' Tony muttered. When he turned around Frigga was just _there_, staring at him and Andon. Tony jolted and offered her a weak smile. 'So...'

'You never did answer my question yesterday,' Frigga mused.

Tony gulped. 'Uh... question?'

'Mm,' the Queen said. 'About how you and Loki came to create Andon.'

'Oh... _that_,' Tony said. He wanted to duck and hide but he had a baby in his arms... and he was pretty sure that Frigga could and _would _chase him down. 'So, uh... Loki landed on Earth- Midgard- and I found him in a bar. We chatted and he looked out of it so I offered him a bed.'

'A bed?'

'I mean, like, just to sleep in!' Tony said hastily. 'I didn't plan on... on...'

'Fornicating?'

Tony's face was on fire and he wanted to die. The Queen just fucking _stared at him_.

'Y-Yeah, that.' Tony cleared his throat. 'I made him breakfast and after we ate Loki just kinda...'

'I initiated it,' Loki interrupted as he walked back into the room. He was dressed in leather trousers and a baggy green tunic, a kind of leather/linen vest thrown on over the top. He'd re-braided his hair and though he still looked pale, eyes still bruised, he was more put together than he'd been all morning.

He stepped up to Tony's side and took Andon from him. 'Go and change, Stark. I'm hungry.'

'Right...' Tony said slowly. He looked between Frigga and Loki, but when the woman didn't say anything he quickly backed out of the room- no, he didn't _run, _okay? He was just very aware of the fact that Frigga could beat his ass and didn't want his baby son to witness that. There'd be plenty of times in the future where Andon could watch Natasha beat Tony up.

Tony breathed out shakily when he reached his own rooms.

'That woman scares me,' he muttered to himself before going hunting for his boots.

{oOo}

'Is there are a reason you asked Stark about our relations?' Loki questioned as soon as the mortal was out of sight.

'I was curious,' Frigga said. 'And worried.'

'Worried?'

His mother nodded. 'You were not in your right mind during your... stay on Midgard,' Frigga said slowly. 'I wanted to know if he took advantage of you.'

'He didn't,' Loki sniffed. 'If anything, _I _took advantage of _him_. He didn't know who I was when we copulated. But I wanted the comfort and a warm body, so I took it. Stark did nothing wrong.'

'If you say so,' Frigga replied and Loki sighed.

'Mother, please. Stark is Andon's father; I would rather not have him run away in terror because you decided to prod him.'

'I will say nothing more, I promise,' Frigga said, and Loki didn't believe her in the slightest. She just smiled brightly at him, face innocent, but Loki had learned a lot of his tricks from the Queen of Asgard. He narrowed his eyes at her, continued staring until Stark re-entered the room.

'Uh...' Stark said into the silence.

'Lead the way, Mother,' Loki said.

Frigga smiled at the both of them before turning and leaving the room.

{oOo}

The courtyard was surrounded on three sides by tall, narrow golden towers that shot up into the bright blue sky. Tony could vaguely make out what appeared to be a _planet _to the right, hanging in the sky and much closer than the moon was to Earth. Stars mingled within the deep blue sky, and the higher Tony looked the more the sky darkened into the ink-black of space.

Tony didn't know how the fuck Asgard worked. Was it a planet or just a flat piece of land, hanging in the middle of space? What was that planet, and that other one he'd spied while walking along the rainbow bridge? Did Asgard have a moon, a sun? How did _gravity _work here?

'Magic,' Loki murmured into his ear as they stepped into the courtyard. The air was fresh, no pollution burning Tony's nose. The trees were all tall and green, and some type of vine covered the stone wall to the left, lank and hanging thickly over the stones.

'Magic?' Tony echoed.

Loki nodded. 'Asgard does not work like Midgard does; it isn't a planet. Asgard sits at the tip of Yggdrasil, while Midgard hangs within the middle. The other Realms are all connected to Yggdrasil by Midgard, and sit on her branches.'

Tony just blinked at him slowly, because... _what_?

Loki smirked and said, 'I'll lend you a few books, if you wish. But I doubt that you will be able to understand.'

'Hey, I'm a genius!' Tony huffed. 'Besides, if Asgard's flat, then how does water work here? We crossed an ocean and-'

'Magic,' Loki interrupted with a shit-eating grin.

Tony glared at him and practically stomped over to the large wooden table that had been set up in the middle of the courtyard. The ground beneath him was a mixture of stone and grass, flowers and bushes bordering the main area. There were lines of trees to the left and right, and Tony could hear water coming from _somewhere _but couldn't see any fountains or streams.

He thought about the elevator they'd taken to get to this floor; how rickety it was, like something from the 1920s. Asgard seemed to be a weird mix of old and new; Tony had spied some type of plane flying over Asgard when they'd walked across a bridge between two of the golden towers, but the warriors of Asgard seemed content to use swords and bows, from what Thor had said.

He wondered how Asgard had evolved; why they'd never discovered electricity and how they'd managed to build planes without advances similar to Earth's.

Maybe Loki would lend him some books on Asgard's history, too.

Frigga was already sitting and gestured to a small basket to Tony's right. Loki inspected it briefly before placing Andon inside, and then took the seat beside it. Loki was sitting opposite Tony, Frigga to his right, with the baby at the end of the table in-between the new parents. Frigga smiled at them both as a few servants suddenly appeared, bringing with them mountains of vegetables, fruit and meat.

Tony just sat back and watched, glasses and plates and utensils set before him. He thanked the woman softly and she stared at him before smiling and walking away. Okay...

'Loki,' Frigga began when the servants had all left. 'What are your plans?'

Loki raised an eyebrow. 'Plans?'

'In regards to Andon, and raising him,' Frigga said. 'I doubt that Anthony wishes to move to Asgard.'

'I offered,' Tony told her. 'I mean, it'd suck, 'cause I _love _technology, but I'd make do. And I'd totally bring Asgard the internet.'

Frigga smiled at him, though Tony was pretty sure that she had no idea what, exactly, Earth technology was... probably didn't even know what the internet was. Tony shivered at the very thought of not having access to Google.

'I plan to move to Midgard and raise Andon there,' Loki spoke into the silence. He leaned over the table to pour himself a glass of water and Tony may or may not have stared at where his shirt gaped open, revealing a sharp collarbone. 'Andon will not face the same scrutiny on Midgard that he would if I raise him here.'

'You will have to make up for the damage you caused,' Frigga said.

'I plan to,' Loki sniffed.

'I'm sure we can work something out,' Tony offered. 'If Loki joins the Avengers-'

'Oh, _goodie_,' Loki drawled. He sat back in his seat, eyes narrowed over his glass at Tony. 'Fighting with your little team, what a _joy_.'

'Hey, smart-ass, you're the one who blew up half of New York,' Tony said. 'And really, the people we fight aren't that strong. A few blasts of magic and you'd have 'em in SHIELD custody.'

Frigga smiled at them, her eyes darting between the two. 'I'm sure that Thor would not mind... keeping an eye on you,' she said slowly. 'He can divide his time between Midgard and Asgard.'

'None of this matters until I speak with the Allfather,' Loki shrugged, 'I will hold off on planning until I have words with him.'

Frigga nodded, and Tony was trying to come up with a new subject when the doors behind the Queen burst open. Thor led the way, followed by the Avengers, and the blond god smiled brightly when he spotted his brother.

'Loki, it is good to see you out of that cell!' he announced.

'You sure it's safe?' Clint grunted, eyeing Loki from where he was standing just behind Steve.

Loki smiled at him sharply. 'But of course, Barton.' He held his hands up, showing them the thick bronze cuffs. 'My magic has been dampened. I couldn't hurt a soul now.'

Clint snorted, 'Yeah, right,' but wandered over to the table and dropped into the seat at the other end of the table. He grabbed a plate and started filling it, apparently content to ignore Loki completely.

Alrighty then...

'Hey, Bruce!' Tony waved and the doctor smiled at him. 'Wanna meet my kid?'

Loki glared at him but Tony gave him his very best puppy dog eyes. Loki sneered but didn't say anything when Tony stood and lifted Andon from the basket. Thor, Bruce, Natasha and Steve all crowded around, eyes wide as Tony turned to grin at them.

'This is Andon Lokason,' he announced, 'isn't he awesome?'

'He certainly looks like you,' Natasha commented when Andon had opened his eyes.

Yeah, they were the exact same shade as Tony's, maybe with a few more flecks of gold here and there, but otherwise perfect copies of Tony's own.

'He's cute,' Steve offered, while Thor beamed and bent over Tony to stare Andon right in the face.

'Hello, nephew,' he said, and for once his voice was set on "normal" instead of "deafening". 'When you are older I shall take you hunting. I am sure that you will be as good as Loki.'

'You hunt?' Tony asked, twisting to look at Loki.

'On occasion, I used to,' Loki said. 'I wanted to know how to hunt, skin and prepare animals so that I could do so if I ever found myself cut off from civilisation.'

'Huh,' Tony murmured. 'If I wasn't always connected to JARVIS in one form or another, I'd totally give hunting a go.'

'Put Andon down, Stark, he is clearly tired,' Loki said, breaking through Tony's thoughts.

And yeah, Andon did kinda look sleepy again... newborns slept a lot, right? Tony could always hold him after lunch.

He put the baby back in his basket and sat slowly, eyes staying on Andon's face for as long as possible. He sighed when he sat properly and turned to the table, only to find Natasha smirking at him and Bruce smiling at his plate.

'What?' he asked.

'You seem... obsessed,' Natasha commented.

'Uh... yeah?' Tony frowned, because _hello_. 'He's my son.'

'Are you moving to Asgard, then?' Clint asked from the end of the table. 'Can I have the penthouse?'

'I'm not moving, a-hole!' Tony said. 'Loki's moving to Earth.'

Clint choked on a piece of fruit and Steve patted his back in sympathy. The Super Soldier didn't say anything bad, though; he just turned to look at Loki and asked, 'What are your plans regarding SHIELD?'

'I shall apologise, I suppose,' Loki drawled. 'Offer my services for my continued good behaviour.'

'This is wonderful news, brother!' Thor beamed. 'We shall fight side-by-side once more and-'

'Yes, Thor,' the mage cut in, 'it will be _fascinating _and _brilliant _and I shall spend all my time trying to avoid you and raise a newborn babe.'

'I'll help,' Tony declared. 'I'll have JARVIS track Thor so you can always hide from him.'

Thor pouted and Loki and Tony shared a smirk.

It was Bruce who said, 'There are two of them.'

Silence descended on the table, Tony and Loki now _gaping _at the doctor. Thor was smiling again and Natasha and Frigga both looked far too pleased about... _something_. Steve looked thoughtful and Clint...

Clint cracked up laughing. He howled and slammed a hand against the table, tears in his eyes. 'Oh my God, they're _exactly the same_!' he practically shouted. 'We'll have to put up with two drama queens!'

His shouting woke Andon, who started crying.

'Idiot!' Tony hissed, he and Loki jumping and rushing to their son's sides. Loki picked him up and sat back down, so Tony shifted his chair closer, peering over Loki's arms. 'Hey, it's okay, little guy. That was just Uncle Clint being a loud idiot.'

'Uncle Clint?' Clint screeched and fell off his seat.

Steve sighed. 'I'm surrounded by children,' he murmured as he helped Clint up.

'Oh my God,' Clint wheezed, 'I'm too young to be an uncle!'

'Fear not, friend!' Thor beamed. 'We shall be uncles together!'

'Does that make me Andon's aunt?' Natasha asked no-one in particular.

'Well,' Frigga declared, speaking for the first time in a good ten minutes, 'I feel better knowing that Andon will have such caring people surrounding him when he moves to Midgard.'

Natasha smiled and nodded and that seemed to be the cue for everyone to start eating. Tony fussed over Andon, he and Loki talking softly, while Frigga and Thor kept the Avengers talking. More than once Tony was called upon, but he was too busy grinning and making faces at his son to notice, he and Loki smiling at each other whenever Andon did something cute.

And sometimes they smiled at each other for no reason whatsoever.


End file.
